Ruskin, John: The elements of drawing: in three letters to beginners (London, 1857)

LETTER I.]

OX FIEST PRACTICE.

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solid and round, not much minding what its exact
contour is — only draw it as nearly right as you can
without vexation; and you will get it more right by
thus feeling your way to it in shade, than if you
tried to draw the outline at first. For you can see no
outline; what you see is only a certain space of
gradated shade, with other such spaces about it; and
those pieces of shade you are to imitate as nearly as
you can, by scrawling the paper over till you get
them to the right shape, with the same gradations
which they have in Nature. And this is really more
likely to be done well, if you have to fight your way
through a little confusion in the sketch, than if you
have an accurately traced outline. For instance, I was
going to draw, beside a, another effect on the stone;
reflected light bringing its dark side out from the
background: but when I had laid on the first few
touches I thought it would be better to stop, and
let you see how I had begun it, at b. In which
beginning it will be observed that nothing is so de-
termined but that I can more or less modify, and
add to or diminish the contour as I work on, the

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